五嶋龍レセプション 2006年3月4日在ヒューストン日本国総領事 加茂佳彦
Good Evening, dear friends and honored guests:
I would like to say a few words of welcome to you all for joining us this evening. This is a very special evening for us, Etsuko and me, as we are hosting a welcome reception for Ryu Goto and his friends at our home. They flew in Houston from New York this afternoon for a concert at the HobbyCenter tomorrow at 5: 30 in the afternoon. We are delight to have our close friends and music lovers here with us to share the excitement and pleasure of having Ryu Goto in Houston.
Ryu! Welcome to Houston! Do you hear me?I appreciate his kind offer to perform a short program for my guests this evening. This is really a privilege and rare opportunity that any Japanese consul cannot miss. Before the performance, he will speak to us about himself and his music. He will also introduce us the other young musicians and comment on the pieces they are going to perform this evening.
So my role here is to speak shortest and let him speak longest. I know that. But it is irresistible to tell you what I learned his already illustrious career as violinist from his website. But before I go into that, please allow me to introduce some of our special guests tonight. We have Mrs. Shu Hao Pao. She is engaged in developing the talents of local young musicians by serving as the chair of the Houston Young Artist Concert. We are supposed to have Maestro Weibel who will be joining us later. He is currently conducting the Opera in the Hights. He was a former concert master of the New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.
Now ladies and gentlemen: I have to solicit your patience for a moment. The Japanese Consulate at Houston is planning to organize two mini-concert-cum-receptions here just like this at the end of March and late April. The March concert features Kana Mimaki, pianist, and Maiko Sasaki, clarinetist. Could you stand to recognize? The April concert features Sakae Nomura, violinist and Kao Taniguchi, pianist. Could you stand to recognize? Those who would like to be invited or ask for more information, please register your interest at the reception desk when you leave. Another administrative announcement is that the food will be served in the dinning room after the performance.
By this time I am afraid your patience has gotten very thin. So I have got to go running to conclude. But let me share with you at least the following very basics about Ryu Goto. He was born in New York City in 1988. He began to practice the violin at the age of 3 and made a concert debut when he was 7. Since then he has been active in North America, Europe and Japan by giving numerous successful concerts. He won many competitions and awards. Last year he concluded an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon and released his first CDs. My wife said that she had heard his Paganini piece aired by a local radio station the other day. As a high school senior, he excels in his school work and has been admitted to Harvard starting from the coming academic year. He enjoys playing the other musical instruments and he wears black belt in Karate. Last but not least, he will play with his nearly 300-year-old Stradivalius this evening.
Ladies and gentlemen: Ryu Goto.